Today I went to my last GEO Juvenil Mexico meeting.

Not only was it good, if a bit sad, to see everyone to say goodbye and give hugs and make plans to keep in contact, but instead of the usual junk food, someone brought crackers and mini-goat-cheeses from the cheese museum, coated in different things (e.g., pesto, garlic, ashes, sesame seeds, black pepper, nuts, etc.). Given that breakfast had been small and about 5 hours earlier, needless to say, I feasted.

I made sure to get some final group shots outside and then had to run back upstairs for my stuff, which annoyed Luis because were late for my departmental goodbye lunch at Kaveh's place. In my honour, Kaveh had even arranged for Rosita to make the pozole with veggie broth (as opposed to caldo de pollo/chicken broth).

Thing is, I'd eaten so much of the yummy cheeses and crackers and assorted goodies at the meeting, I just wasn't feeling up to the pozole. I ate, but without much gusto, and not very much or very fast. To make matters worse, by the time we got there, Maru, Tere and Kaveh were already eating, so my lack of consumption was all the more notable. Finally, I decided to give up and have a bit the coffee-banana loaf that everyone else was already on, and take my remaining pozole for later.

I knew it was bad, but what could I do? I just wasn’t feeling it…

So, I thanked everyone profusely, and on the way out made a point of hugging Kaveh and apologizing. Kaveh said he'd forgive me on the condition that I stop talking about it, since I guess my guilty conscience had been making matters worse. So I did.

But then I got back in the car with Luis and he made me feel oh so much better by saying I'd committed the worst grosería (i.e., act of rudeness) I could have in Mexico by not eating my pozole, and that I shouldn't have eaten the desert. But I wanted desert, and a little slice of fresh coffee-banana loaf, with a couple spoons of ice cream, just goes down so much easier than chili-corn soup when you’re not hungry!

Now I feel all crappy. I'll get over it, but still...

I suppose the lesson to be learned is: don't pig out on the goat cheese, no matter how appetizing, when someone is going out of their way to make you a meal. Or something like that.

I think I'll try to invite the department out for a meal before I go, and see if we can do better - I'll check my pocket book, but I'm thinking Saks, a nice veggie restaurant near my soon-to-be-ex-house...